Ok so this might depend a bit on opinion I'm not sure. I was just wondering what do you class as the basics a well broke horse should know? Not necessarily a top show horse of any kind just a basic well broke horse if that makes sense. When I was using someone else's ponies a few years ago they all knew ground work like turning their hindquarters off pressure, turning the forehand, backing up, walking/trotting in hand, lunging and more things I possibly can't remember. But for example my boy Sam didn't seem to get the whole move off pressure except for walking, backing up and stopping. With a lot of pushing on my part he now turns his hindquarters, forehand, and sidepasses. There is definite room for improvement but he has come a long way. Before if you put any pressure on him when riding he thought this meant faster. If you asked to turn it was always a stiff turn on a dime to go in the other direction. There was no bending or sidepassing. He also doesn't seem to have a clue what I was asking when I tried to lunge him. I just thought at least some of this was basic training but maybe I was wrong.
So what do you think is basic stuff a well broke horse should know in hand and under saddle??

A well broke horse should respond to all your cues and respect your space. Give to the bit, stand while mounting, pick up all 4 feet with no hassle, move sideways, back, and forward. Flex laterally and vertically. Lunge both ways. Sidepass I think is a more refined training. All basics you would normally do on a baby plus handling saddle,bridle, being touched everywhere, and making sure they are well sacked out. There's probably more but I'm sure others will fill in.Posted via Mobile Device

yes they should know all of that. I even teach my 2yr olds how to go off leg pressure and if they take to it neck rein.(i ride mostly western) I like a well broke very calm and even a green broke horse fairly calm. lots of desensitizing.

On the ground: Yield the forehand and hindquarters, back up, respect my space, lunge both directions, give to halter pressure, stand tied without dramatics, trailer load, accept having his whole body touched and lift all feet politely, accept saddling and bridling, be desensitized to the obvious "spookies" (bikes, plastic bags, ropes, etc), stand for vet and farrier.

In the saddle: Stand for mounting (with or without a block), give to bridle pressure the same as halter pressure, transition between each gait plus halt and back calmly and promptly, yield the forehand and hindquarters, and turn off of a subtle cue.

It doesn't have to be "pretty," but prompt and calm. I wouldn't expect a horse just being billed as "broke" to be able to change leads, sidepass, or neck rein yet, but the training that it does have ought to provide a solid foundation to build off of. Other bonuses that would push a horse to "very/well broke" IMHO would be basic leg yielding, shoulder fore, ground tying, simple lead changes, and some appreciable miles on the trail.

A stubborn horse walks behind you, an impatient one in front of you, but a noble companion walks beside you ~ Unknown

Basic Training starts so much earlier in a horse's life than from their backs in the saddle. Older horses benefit from it as well. Doing refresher training beginning with ground training is so very important. Even an older horse can benefit from "going back to ground training basics".

mmm looks like my boy needs either a refresher or has some catching up to do. He is apparently hopeless to get in a float. Though I am sure he could become very calm about it if I had a float to practise with. I just don't think anyone has taken the time to fix the problem the last owner openly admitted to me they never really worried about it. I normally do at least a little bit of groundwork before I go for a ride.

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